The Craftsman Mentality

What comes to mind when you hear the word – craftsman? For me, I picture someone in an olden day British village working intently in their shed producing something – like a clay vase or hammering down a sword. They would be very focused on their work, paying attention to every delicate detail and it’s almost as if the world around them does not exist. In modern times, we’d say they are in flow.

But what has a craftsman from the 1500s got to do with us today? Most vases are produced in large factories and probably no one wants to use a sword, even if a war broke out. So, no, I’m not suggesting these jobs as your next career jump – but what I am suggesting is that maybe we can learn something from the way these craftsmen thought.

Taking myself as an example: I have loved writing for as long as I have remembered. As a kid, I used to write my own short stories, usually plagiarising something I just read/watched. I also created a cut & paste magazine and even developed my very own game book (R. L. Stine was huge back then). As I grew older, I naturally gravitated towards blogs – started and scrapped more than I care to admit.

But something happened as I started university and eventually went into the workforce. I gradually wrote lesser and lesser until all I ever write are Facebook & Instagram posts.

Maybe it’s the rapid rise of Internet. Maybe it’s work. Or maybe it’s just one of those things that are good while it lasted, forgotten when it’s gone. Truthfully, I’d say it’s all of the above and then some. I realised that the older I grew, the more I started comparing myself with others. Like oh, he writes better than me. Her post is funnier than mine. His blog is getting so much more visitors. Their blog is actually making money!

In my mind, that meant my blog/writing sucked! And I eventually stopped.

What I realised, in hindsight were:

• My blogs never got past the early game – The motivation to write usually lasted only a few months before I shifted my attention to other interests
• I didn’t write for the right reasons – I was writing to impress others
• My blogs did get some engagement – just a little, but hey, it’s something!
• I miss writing, creating content and replying to comments

So, here I am. No better reason than a global pandemic lock-down to restart my writing. What’s different this time (hopefully) is that I’m planning to write first and foremost, for me. It’s my form of self-expression. It’s my art. It’s my craft! I really wish I could paint or make music, that would have been a lot cooler – but alas, this is what I’ve been given. So, I’ll make the most out of it.

Which brings me to – the craftsman mentality. Remember that dude working on his vase? He probably spent countless hours learning from a master vase maker and perfecting his own version before he could make a vase you would buy (trust me, I’ve tried my hands on one of those vase making turning thingy – it’s harder than it looks). This is soooooo in contrast with the popular advice we’ve been given in recent times – Follow Your Passion.

OK, before you start typing hate comments down there, let it be known that I’m not against passion. In fact, I’ve tried many times over to find and follow my passion. I’ve gone from engineering to advertising to trying to be a radio DJ and eventually stabilising at my being a learning facilitator, consultant and business owner. Even then, I’m still continuously exploring and reinventing myself, but with more wisdom and skill (hopefully, 😉).

The problem with passion is this: it simply doesn’t last.

As someone who tends to start more than finish – I was very inspired by an article I read quite some time ago, talking about the craftsman mentality. Here’s an excerpt:

Instead of “following passion,” I think a better aim is to find something that piques our interest and then satisfies us so much that we are willing to put in enough hours to master it.

This pursuit must resonate with us, excite us, and motivate us if we are to sacrifice our time to cultivate a craftsman mindset. We will get up at four a.m. to write that chapter; we’ll drive an hour on Sunday morning to be the first person teeing off at the golf course.

The idea of learning a craft from a mentor and developing it over many years has nearly been forgotten, but it was prevalent at the time of the Renaissance. Artists learned their trade through mentorship or apprenticeship and took baby steps toward becoming full-fledged craftsmen.

At the age of 14, Leonardo da Vinci was apprenticed to the artist Andrea di Cione, known as Verrocchio, whose workshop was one of the finest in Florence. Only after seven years did he qualify as a master; he could then set up his workshop.

Therefore, I am now committing to writing something daily, as part of honing my craft. And I’d encourage you to do so to ( for your craft – writing or otherwise). If you are someone who like me, has many interests and don’t know which one to choose, I have 3 tips to offer:

1. It’s Not Set in Stone

It sounds counter-intuitive to everything I’ve just said, but I really think that having the idea of “I must master this or die trying” or “This is it. No U-turns or looking back from here on now” is not going to help you at all. If anything, it adds unnecessary pressure and will likely hinder you from taking the first step you need.

I would instead suggest that you take some time to ask yourself:

What makes me feel alive? What am I willing to invest the time and effort in?

Then, just choose one craft that resonates the most with you in this present moment and do that. It’s likely something that you have tried naturally before, even if you didn’t have to do it and no one asks you to. You’ll also probably feel a tinge (or a tsunami) of excitement, coupled with fear (of finally doing something you really like). What’s most important is you feel at peace with it – like it’s really coming from you and not what Gary Vee or your parents think you should be doing.

And if, after you have (really) tried and you find that this is really not for you, then give yourself permission to change or simply take a step back and reflect. No harm done and definitely no loss to you.

2. Enjoy the Process

If I asked you to do something you don’t like for 10 minutes – can you do it? You most likely can. But what if I asked you to do it for 10 hours, 10 days or 10 years? You’ll most likely run the heck away from me.

And that’s the difference with a craftsman mindset. You’re in it for the long game. You’ll spend hundreds of thousands of hours on your craft. Just for perspective, 1,000 hours = 41 full days. If we work on our craft 8 hours a day, that will take us to 125 days or 4 months to reach our first 1,000 hours. Popular science says we need 10,000 (3.5 years of continuously honing your craft). Now you know why Da Vinci needed 7 years to be a master.

And in that 3.5 years, you will inevitably encounter setbacks, obstacles, funkiness, days when you don’t feel like it. In other words, days when working on your craft sucks and you wish you didn’t read this article. But if you somehow manage to pull through. you’ll emerge at the other end – a master of your chose craft.

In Mark Manson’s words, choosing your shit sandwich. So, learning to enjoy the process will not only get you far, but it’s probably the only way to even make it out of this journey.

3. You Can Have More Than One

OK, this is totally my personal opinion – but I really think we need not limit ourselves to just one thing for the rest of our lives. I mean Da Vinci did art, science, engineering, architecture and even anatomy! (according to Wikipedia) Yes, it’s an extreme example and he lived so long ago!

In today’s world, I think people are still capable of mastering more than one craft, but maybe less diversified than Da Vinci. We have people like Elon Musk who’s building rockets, electric cars, neural technology and still somehow manages to be a Twitter influencer. We also have people like Beyonce who can sing, act, dance, write still launch their own clothing line. Closer to home, we have people like Datuk Siti Nurhaliza who is a singer and now runs multiple businesses doing cosmetics and tea leaves. We also have people like Joel Neoh who studied engineering (top 3 of his class), did modelling, started companies (Groupon, KFit and Fave) and invests in other businesses.

I think the key to having more than one craft is to actually master one first – then branching out into other interests. This takes years and playing the long game – hence, less talked about in today’s instant world.

For some, they recognise their craft very early on. For others, we need to be a bit more intentional about it. Whatever it is, I believe that working on our craft give our lives a deeper meaning & fulfillment. There’s a certain sense of accomplishment and joy. It’s not just mastering another skill, but I also see it as an act of self-love and self-care.

If you’ve made it all the way here – thank you! ❤️ Let me know by leaving a comment below.

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